Colic and Migraines

A new study (text pasted below, from the Boston Globe) has found that mothers who suffer from migraines are more than twice as likely to have babies with colic. They're proposing colic may represent an early form of a migraine, and babies with colic more sensitive to sensory overload.

The author writes about how colic presents problems not just for the baby, but for the mother-baby relationship. As a mother of an infant who had colic and a sufferer of migraines, I can attest to how devastating and desperate the situation may seem, and how the feeling of inadequacy took a toll on my own mental health. My son pretty much snapped out of it around 3 months. He's a different baby now - it's truly like night and day.

It's not really a hot topic, but an interesting theory. Any other moms with migraines out there? Or moms of colicky infants? Thoughts on the growing field of infant mental health?

In a new study,
neurologists at the University of California, San Francisco who
surveyed new mothers at their pediatricians office found that mothers
who suffer migraine headaches are more than twice as likely to have
babies with colic than mothers without a history of migraines.
Proposing a genetic link, they hypothesize that colic may represent an
early form of migraine.

Before we can launch any meaningful
conversation about colic, it is essential to recognize that when we
talk about mothers and infants, we are talking about an intense
passionate loverelationship (see my previous post).
When all goes well, the caregiver, who is usually the mother, is highly
attuned to the needs of her infant, who in these early months is
completely helpless. In a natural and healthy way that accompanies this
state of falling in love, a mother is, to quote D. W.Winnicott,,
"preoccupied" with her baby. They are engaged in a beautiful dance, in
which the mother, by supporting and containing the baby, helps him to
learn to regulate himself in the face of all the new experiences he has
out in the busy, bright, loud world.

It is not as simple as
"the mother has migraines, so maybe the baby has migraines." The
exquisite dance of mutual regulation, that goes on naturally when both
mother an baby are well, is severely disrupted. It is replaced by a
dance of mutual dysregulation.

The baby may be more sensitive
to sensory input, as the authors postulate. This difficulty with
sensory processing is thought to be a significant component of colic,
even if the mother does not have migraines. But the other person in the
dance, far from being "preoccupied" with her baby, may be" lying
prostrate on the couch for 10 hours," as one migraine sufferer wrote on
her blog in response to this study. Certainly her ability to respond to
her baby will be in some way impaired by her own distress. The crying,
in turn, may worsen the migraine. This is not meant to be a judgment,
but simply a fact.

The growing discipline of infant mental health
looks at colic not only as a problem in the baby, who may have a
variety of biological vulnerabilities, (sensitivity to sensory input
being one of them) but as a problem in a relationship. For a new
mother, who had anticipated this period as a time of bliss but is
instead faced with baby who is either crying or sleeping, with few
moments available for gazing adoringly into each others eyes , colic
can be a devastating experience.

Recently
I had the privilege of teaching about infant mental health to a group
of psychologists and psychiatrists who work with very troubled adults,
many of whom had significant disruptions in relationships starting in
infancy. My students wanted to know what questions to ask when taking
early developmental history. I found that they know what to ask, as in
"did he have colic?" but they don't know what to listen for in the
answers. I told them that my aim was to give texture to colic -to give
them sense of what colic felt like, how it was experienced by both the
baby and caregiver.

Interestingly this word "texture" came up again last week. I have been taking a wonderful online course on regulatory and sensory processing disorders taught by Rosemary White, who worked closely with the late Stanley Greenspan.
White used the word "tailor" to describe how mothers are attuned to
their babies, preferring this word to the word "calibrate" that she has
used in previous courses. She said that the word "tailor" gives more
"texture" to the experience.

There is yet another layer to the
"texture" of colic. Mothers, even in the absence of migraines, may
struggle with intense feelings of inadequacy in the face of a baby who
cries all the time. Add to that chronic sleep deprivation along with an
illness like migraines, and there may be a slide into depression.

Recognizing
and exploring this "texture" of colic has significant implications for
treatment. Rather than exclusively focusing on the baby, it is
important to listen to the mother. A mother will need to know that
another caregiver who she trusts, be it a spouse, close friend or
relative, can watch the baby when she has a migraine. If she can count
on such a person, it may lessen the guilt she will likely be
experiencing. She may need to attend a group with other mothers facing
similar challenges so that she does not feel so isolated. She may need
to work on-on-one with an infant mental health specialist who can help
the "couple' to manage the stresses on their relationship.

Even
in the absence of colic, a mother needs to feel heard, valued and not
alone in order to be free to provide that "primary maternal
preoccupation." But when she is not well, and her infant is crying all
the time, that kind of supportive environment is even more essential.
When a mother has such a "holding environment," to again quote
Winnicott, she is better able to provide that holding environment for
her baby. Together they can make their way thorough these early months
when the baby is totally dependent and helpless. It is important in
those difficult months, to keep in mind that by "hanging in there," the
time will come when a baby can reach for a toy, bring his thumb to his
mouth, and begin to learn to comfort himself. This is a skill he will,
with the help of his caregivers, continue to develop and refine as he
grows increasingly more independent.

A new study (text pasted below, from the Boston Globe) has found that mothers who suffer from migraines are more than twice as likely to have babies with colic. They're proposing colic may represent an early form of a migraine, and babies with colic more sensitive to sensory overload.

The author writes about how colic presents problems not just for the baby, but for the mother-baby relationship. As a mother of an infant who had colic and a sufferer of migraines, I can attest to how devastating and desperate the situation may seem, and how the feeling of inadequacy took a toll on my own mental health. My son pretty much snapped out of it around 3 months. He's a different baby now - it's truly like night and day.

It's not really a hot topic, but an interesting theory. Any other moms with migraines out there? Or moms of colicky infants? Thoughts on the growing field of infant mental health?

In a new study,
neurologists at the University of California, San Francisco who
surveyed new mothers at their pediatricians office found that mothers
who suffer migraine headaches are more than twice as likely to have
babies with colic than mothers without a history of migraines.
Proposing a genetic link, they hypothesize that colic may represent an
early form of migraine.

Before we can launch any meaningful
conversation about colic, it is essential to recognize that when we
talk about mothers and infants, we are talking about an intense
passionate loverelationship (see my previous post).
When all goes well, the caregiver, who is usually the mother, is highly
attuned to the needs of her infant, who in these early months is
completely helpless. In a natural and healthy way that accompanies this
state of falling in love, a mother is, to quote D. W.Winnicott,,
"preoccupied" with her baby. They are engaged in a beautiful dance, in
which the mother, by supporting and containing the baby, helps him to
learn to regulate himself in the face of all the new experiences he has
out in the busy, bright, loud world.

It is not as simple as
"the mother has migraines, so maybe the baby has migraines." The
exquisite dance of mutual regulation, that goes on naturally when both
mother an baby are well, is severely disrupted. It is replaced by a
dance of mutual dysregulation.

The baby may be more sensitive
to sensory input, as the authors postulate. This difficulty with
sensory processing is thought to be a significant component of colic,
even if the mother does not have migraines. But the other person in the
dance, far from being "preoccupied" with her baby, may be" lying
prostrate on the couch for 10 hours," as one migraine sufferer wrote on
her blog in response to this study. Certainly her ability to respond to
her baby will be in some way impaired by her own distress. The crying,
in turn, may worsen the migraine. This is not meant to be a judgment,
but simply a fact.

The growing discipline of infant mental health
looks at colic not only as a problem in the baby, who may have a
variety of biological vulnerabilities, (sensitivity to sensory input
being one of them) but as a problem in a relationship. For a new
mother, who had anticipated this period as a time of bliss but is
instead faced with baby who is either crying or sleeping, with few
moments available for gazing adoringly into each others eyes , colic
can be a devastating experience.

Recently
I had the privilege of teaching about infant mental health to a group
of psychologists and psychiatrists who work with very troubled adults,
many of whom had significant disruptions in relationships starting in
infancy. My students wanted to know what questions to ask when taking
early developmental history. I found that they know what to ask, as in
"did he have colic?" but they don't know what to listen for in the
answers. I told them that my aim was to give texture to colic -to give
them sense of what colic felt like, how it was experienced by both the
baby and caregiver.

Interestingly this word "texture" came up again last week. I have been taking a wonderful online course on regulatory and sensory processing disorders taught by Rosemary White, who worked closely with the late Stanley Greenspan.
White used the word "tailor" to describe how mothers are attuned to
their babies, preferring this word to the word "calibrate" that she has
used in previous courses. She said that the word "tailor" gives more
"texture" to the experience.

There is yet another layer to the
"texture" of colic. Mothers, even in the absence of migraines, may
struggle with intense feelings of inadequacy in the face of a baby who
cries all the time. Add to that chronic sleep deprivation along with an
illness like migraines, and there may be a slide into depression.

Recognizing
and exploring this "texture" of colic has significant implications for
treatment. Rather than exclusively focusing on the baby, it is
important to listen to the mother. A mother will need to know that
another caregiver who she trusts, be it a spouse, close friend or
relative, can watch the baby when she has a migraine. If she can count
on such a person, it may lessen the guilt she will likely be
experiencing. She may need to attend a group with other mothers facing
similar challenges so that she does not feel so isolated. She may need
to work on-on-one with an infant mental health specialist who can help
the "couple' to manage the stresses on their relationship.

Even
in the absence of colic, a mother needs to feel heard, valued and not
alone in order to be free to provide that "primary maternal
preoccupation." But when she is not well, and her infant is crying all
the time, that kind of supportive environment is even more essential.
When a mother has such a "holding environment," to again quote
Winnicott, she is better able to provide that holding environment for
her baby. Together they can make their way thorough these early months
when the baby is totally dependent and helpless. It is important in
those difficult months, to keep in mind that by "hanging in there," the
time will come when a baby can reach for a toy, bring his thumb to his
mouth, and begin to learn to comfort himself. This is a skill he will,
with the help of his caregivers, continue to develop and refine as he
grows increasingly more independent.

That's interesting. I suffer from migraines. My first had colic and still has some sensory issues at 4 years old. My second didn't have colic, thank goodness! I wouldn't have thought my migraines had anything to do with his colic, but I did suspect that he had sensory issues pretty early on.

That's interesting. I suffer from migraines. My first had colic and still has some sensory issues at 4 years old. My second didn't have colic, thank goodness! I wouldn't have thought my migraines had anything to do with his colic, but I did suspect that he had sensory issues pretty early on.

I've always been that way even with nieces and nephews when I was younger. My sisters would ask me for help because babies screaming just don't bother me. Luckily my husband is as calm as me also so we usually laugh through it.

I've always been that way even with nieces and nephews when I was younger. My sisters would ask me for help because babies screaming just don't bother me. Luckily my husband is as calm as me also so we usually laugh through it.

My son was colicky but I have never had a migraine. Interestingly though, when I took him to the chiropractor he said he could be suffering from headaches due to being misaligned. My baby and I had such a hard time bonding, but I'm glad to say that's all behind us.

My son was colicky but I have never had a migraine. Interestingly though, when I took him to the chiropractor he said he could be suffering from headaches due to being misaligned. My baby and I had such a hard time bonding, but I'm glad to say that's all behind us.

I have seasonal migraines not chronic migraines and dd was somewhat colicky.....but we have had a crazy winter so it wouldn't surprise me if it was because one day it's 50 and sunny and the next 20 and snowing.

I have seasonal migraines not chronic migraines and dd was somewhat colicky.....but we have had a crazy winter so it wouldn't surprise me if it was because one day it's 50 and sunny and the next 20 and snowing.

That's a very interesting study. I've had chronic migraines for most of my life. But my son didn't have colic. But I can see a correlation. Even as far into the idea that more cortisol ( I think that's the stress hormone) is released during a migraine which means a fetus is doused with it. I didn't have migraines while pregnant though. Which was amazing. But they came back once he was born. It sucked dealing wit ha newborn and migraines. But I was lucky that he wasn't a colicky baby.

That's a very interesting study. I've had chronic migraines for most of my life. But my son didn't have colic. But I can see a correlation. Even as far into the idea that more cortisol ( I think that's the stress hormone) is released during a migraine which means a fetus is doused with it. I didn't have migraines while pregnant though. Which was amazing. But they came back once he was born. It sucked dealing wit ha newborn and migraines. But I was lucky that he wasn't a colicky baby.

I suffered from horrible migraines. even my own heartbeat made me cry. I got pregnant, and stopped having them pretty much completely. and my little one did not have colic. however, I can see the correlation. I have severe ppd, managed with medicine, so that hurt my bonding with my little man.

I suffered from horrible migraines. even my own heartbeat made me cry. I got pregnant, and stopped having them pretty much completely. and my little one did not have colic. however, I can see the correlation. I have severe ppd, managed with medicine, so that hurt my bonding with my little man.

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